Covering material for furniture, &amp;c., and method of making same.



H. B. MORRIS.

COVERING MATERIAL FOR FURNITURE, &c., AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I1, 1916.

. Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

H. B. MORRIS.

COVERING MATERIAL FOR FURNITURE, &c., AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. II, I9I6.

1 03,896. Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

2 $HEETS-SHEET 2.

vwemtoz I FIQ.

HAROLD B. MORRIS, 0F GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA.

COVERING MATERIAL FOR FURNITURE, &d., AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

Original application filed October 11, 1915, Serial No. 55,309. Divided and Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

this application filed February 11, 1910. Serial No. 77,605.

To an whom it may concern 4 ,j

Be it known that I, HAROLD B. Moinns, a citizen of the United States, residing at 'Glendale, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Covering Materials for Furniture, &c., and Methods of Making Same, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates particularly to the manufacture of material used in the manufacture of chairs, settees and other articles of furniture, but it may also be usedin the manufacture of other articles.

U. S. Patent No. 723,006, granted to Henry B. Morris, March 17, 1903, shows a chair which has been extensively manufactured in which the chair frame is covered by braided paper cord impregnated with a hardening substance, and my Patents No.

926,996 of July 6, 1909 and No. 928,266 of July 20, 1909 show novel material which may be used for a similar and for other purposes. In said last-mentioned patents I have described covering material consisting of cords or braids made from loose fibrous material treated with adhesive material.

According to my present invention, I form cords or strands, for the purposes above mentioned, of novel construction possessing advantages over the cords or strands described in said patents as, will be hereinafter made clear.

Briefly stated, the present invention consists in forming the core, which may be done in various ways; treating this core with a suitable adhesive; applying thereto a covering of fibrous material; treating this covering with adhesive, and then applying if desired successive additional coverings which are likewise treated with adhesive. The outside of the cord thus formed is waterproofed and may be ornamented in various ways if desired.

In order to produce diiferent color effects inv the cord the fibrous material may be colored in various ways and for some uses a plurality of cords may be bound together to form a Wide strand or formed into braids.

Each successive covering may be coloredand preferably the successive coverings .have simllar color schemes as one of the purposes of my invention is to so construct the cord that if one layer of the covering be worn away-it will expose another layer in such manner that the worn-away portion of the outer covering or coverings will not be readily discernible. Other features of my invention will be hereinafter specified. In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 1s a perspective view of a cord embodying some of my improvements. Figs. 2 to 7 inclusive show some of the ways in which the core of the cord maybe made. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a wire which may constitute the core of the central portion of the cord. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the core made by braiding over a wire threads of fibrous material, such as cotton. Fig. 4 illustrates a core made by twisting and compressing or otherwise forming'into a compact mass shredded fibrous material, such as excelsior or jute. Fig. 5 illustrates a core made by braiding together cotton threads or strings. Fig. 6 shows a strip of cloth with threads stitched thereto. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a core made from the material shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 illustrates how the core may be'treated with adhesive material. Fig. 9 illustrates how the core treated with fibrous material may be dried and then steamed to soften the adhesive material. Fig. 10 shows how the core may be covered. with fibrous material by braiding threads or strings thereon. Fig. 10 illustrates how the core has applied to it adhesive material and how successivecoverings of adhesive material and fibrous material are applied. It also illustrates how the same color scheme may be employed in the successive coverings so that when one covering is worn away in parts the same color scheme may appear on the inner covering through the openings in the outer covering. Fig. 11 shows how the core may be covered by laying fibrous threads on the core in straight or parallel lines. Fig. 12 shows another coat of adhesive material which may contain waterproofing material, such as bichromate of potash. Fig. 17 indicates how each individual thread or string of fibrous material may be variously colored. Fig. 18 illustrates how the finished cord may be ornamented in various ways. Fig. 19 shows how a wide fiat cord may be made by covering a plurality of cords with fibrous mate- Y rial braided thereon. Fig. 20 indicates how a wide flat cord may be made by braiding a plurality of cords.

A complete cord is shown in Fig. 1, com prising a corea, and successive coverings b, c, d. It will be understood, however, that a greater or less number of coverings may be employed. The core may. be merely a wire 6 (Fig. 2) or a wire f covered by fibrous mate rial g braided thereon or otherwise applied thereto (Fig. 3), or I may, as indicated in Fig. 4, form a core of shredded fibrous material k, such as excelsior, jute or the like twisted or otherwise formed into a cord 71. I prefer, however, to form the core of threads 7' of fibrous material braided in the manner shown at 72in Fig. 5. I have found cotton threads most suitable because of their cheapness and also because of the readiness with which they absorb adhesive material with which the cover is treated.

In Figs. 6 and 7 I have illustrated another modification of this part of my invention. In this case a strip of cotton cloth 1 has cotton threads 4121 stitched thereto and Y then rolled or otherwise mani ulated to form a core M, as shown in Fig.

The core shown in Figs. 2 and 3 may be used in the manufacture of cords where more or less rigidity is required or to take the place of reeds often used in the manufacture of chairs. When the core is made of fibrous material or is covered with fibrous material it istreated with a suitable adhesive such as glue to which a small amount of glycerin is added in order to give flexibility to the material and to prevent it from cracking or breaking as it would be apt to do if the cord were brittle. By making it. thus flexible the cord may be threaded or Woven into chairs or other articles with greatfacility. Then adhesive may be applied to the cord in various ways. For instance, the core may be passed through a bath L (Fig. 8) insuch manner that the fibrous material of the core receives adhesive material and then passes through scrapers N which remove superfluous material. After this I preferably dry the treated cord. This may also be done in various ways but preferably the core X is wound on a drum 0 and there dried. Before the core is covered the latter is so treated as to soften the adhesive material. This is preferably done by a steaming operation which may be performed in various ways, but as indlcated in Fig. 9, the core with the dried adhesive material thereon is passed through a steaming device P which softens the adhesive and then the first cover may be applied. This may be done in various ways. As indicated in Fig. 10 fibrous material in the form of threads, such as cotton threads, is braided on the core as indicated at Q. Fig. 11 indicates how the cover may be made by applying fibrous threads longitudinally and in parallel relation to each other and to the core, as indicated at B. Fig. 12 illustrates how the fibrous material may be woven on the core in a circular loom or otherwise, as indicated at S. Fig. 13 shows how the cover may be applied by winding threads of fibrous material spirally on the core. The covered core may be used for a some purposes in this condition, but I preferably apply additional coverings but even when only one covering is applied I pass the covered core through another bath of adhesive material, such as glue and glycerin, as indicated at L (Fig. 14) and the superfiuous material is removed by a scraper L If no other additional coverings are to be applied I preferably add to the bath L some waterproofing material or some material which will make the adhesive waterproof,

v such as bichromate of potash. Furthermore, 'I also contemplate using waterproofing ma- .terial when treating the outside of each successive covering.

Before applying an additional covering I dry the covered core in the manner indicated in Fig. 15 where 0 indicates a drum similar to that shown in Fig. 9 and used for the same purposes. After the adhesive is dried it is steamed or otherwise treated as indicated at P to soften it, and when in this condition the covered core is ready to receive another cover which may be applied in the manner before described. The final cover, may, if desired, be further treated with some finishing material, such as varnish, or with some specially prepared waterproofing material or material to give the final outside durable coating to the cord. This may also obviously be done in various ways, as by passing it through a bath L as indicated in Fig. 16, the superfluous material being removed by a scraper or other device L. After the superfluous material has been removed the cord may be rubbed down or pol-' ished or otherwise treated to give it the desired qualities. The completed cord may be ornamented in various ways by passing it through suitable press designs thereon, as indicated in Fig. 18. Cords of large size may be produced by using a core of large diameter by applying a large number of coverings or by combining several cords in various ways.

In Fig. 19 I have shown two covered cords Y laid side-by-side and having fibrous material Y braided around them. The covering Y may be made to adhere to the cords Y in the manner before explained, and this covering may be finished in the way before described. I may form a braid of a plurality of cords, in the manner illustrated in Fig. 20 and the different cords may be made to-adhere to each other during the braiding operation.

A variety of coloringv effects may be produced. The coverings may be formed from fibrous material all of the same color or the threads of fibrous material may be each given different colors, as indicated in Fig. 17. I find that when the threads are thus colored very pleasing effects are produced in the final product. Where a plurality of coverings are used I preferably give them all the same color scheme, so that if the outer covering is worn ofi an inner covering having the same color will appear as I have found that when this is the case the worn portion is scarcely discernible. Experience has demonstrated that cords made in the manner before described do not chip, crack or splinter as some other covering cords, but are very durable and entirely Waterproof. I preferably waterproof the several coverings so that if one cover is worn away it will expose an inner cover not only of the same color and general appearance but also hard and waterproof.

In Fig. 10 I have illustrated how the completed cord as preferably used may be made. As indicated the core a, which may be made in any of the ways hereinbefore described, is treated with adhesive material a'. This material is allowed to harden, as before described, and is then softened and then the coveringb of fibrous material is applied in any of the ways before described. This covering may be given any desired color scheme or design. The drawings indicate that this cover is colored green. To this cover is applied adhesive material a which is allowed to dry and then softened and then another cover of fibrous material 0 is applied and which has the same color scheme or design (green as indicated) as the first cover 6 sothat if the cover 0 is worn away in parts in such manner as to expose the cover I), the same color scheme or design apparatus to print or im-' will be preserved. Adhesive material a is then applied in the manner before specified, it is allowed to dry or harden, it is then softened, and another cover d is applied in the manner before described, and this also has the same color scheme as the coverings b and c, as indicated.

As before stated the adhesive material may contain waterproofing material and the outer covering may be coated with waterproofing material or any desired finishing material as indicated at a.

I have described several ways in which my invention may be performed, but do not wish to limit it to the specific apparatus described nor to the specific instances of the invention specified.

Some of the features herein shown and described are claimed in my application for Patent No. 55,309, filed October 11, 1915, of which application this is a division.

I claim as my invention:

1. A cord for covering frames of different articles, comprising a core of fibrous material treated with adhesive, a covering for the core made of fibrous material which is colored and which is treated with adhesive material, and another cover superposed on that first mentioned having the same color scheme united to the first-mentioned cover by adhesive and which is treated with adheing material.

3. A cord for covering frames of different articles, comprising a core treated with ad hesive material and colored, a covering for the core made of fibrous material united to the core by the adhesive and which has the same color scheme as the core whereby when the cover wears away and the core is eX- posed the same color scheme will be preserved. 7

4. The method herein-described of forming a covering cord consisting in first forming a core of flexible fibrous material, treating said core with adhesive material, applying thereto a covering of colored fibrous material, treating said cover with adhesive water-proofing material, applying to said first cover a second cover of colored fibrous material similar in color scheme to the first cover, and then treating the outer cover with adhesive water-proofing material.

5. The method herein-described of forming a covering cord, which consists in treating a core with adhesive material, allowing treating the outer cover with finishing adhe- 10 said material to dry, softening said matesive material. K rial, applying thereto a covering of colored In testimony whereof, I have hereunto fibrous material, trleating said.d cover with subscribed my name. adhesive material, a lowing sai material to a dry, subsequently softening the dried mate- HAROLD MORRIS rial, applying to said first cover a second Witnesses:

cover of colored fibrous material similar in CALVIN WHITING,

color scheme to the first cover, and then J. EQLILLY. 

